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The Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God ‐ bearer, Bishop of Antioch

The Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God ‐bearer, Bishop of Antioch

Whom the Holy Church Celebrates on December 20.

Saint Ignatius was a disciple of Saint John the Theologian, and a successor

of the Apostles, after Evodus. He wrote many epistles to the faithful,

strengthening them in their confession and preserving for us the teachings of the

holy Apostles.

Brought

to

Rome

under

Trajan,

he

was

surrendered

to

lions

to

be

eaten, and so finished the course of martyrdom about the year 107. The remnants

of his bones were carefully gathered by the faithful and brought to Antioch. He is

called the God ‐ bearer, as one who bare God within himself and was aflame in

heart with love for Him. Therefore, in his Epistle to the Romans (ch.4), imploring

their love not to attempt to deliver him from his longed ‐for martyrdom, he said,

“I am the wheat of God, and I am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may become the pure bread of God.”

Wine and oil allowed.

Text: The Great Horologion © 1997 The Holy Transfiguration Monastery Brookline, Massachusetts 02445 Icon courtesy The Holy Transfiguration Monastery Brookline, Massachusetts

Hymns, etc. The Menaion © 2005 The Holy Transfiguration Monastery Brookline, Massachusetts

The Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Boston

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The Holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God ‐ bearer, Bishop of Antioch

Dismissal Hymn of the Saint. Fourth Tone

S a sharer of the ways and a successor of the throne of the Apostles, O

inspired of God, thou foundest discipline to be a means of ascent to divine

vision. Wherefore, having rightly divided the word of truth, thou didst contest

for the Faith even unto blood, O Hieromartyr Ignatius. Intercede with Christ our

God that our souls be saved.

A

Kontakion of the Saint. Third Tone

On this day the Virgin

HE divine and brilliant day * of thine illustrious contests * doth proclaim to

all mankind * Him that was born of a Virgin; * for it was for Him that thou

didst * thirst to delight in, * and in haste to be devoured by beasts in thy longing.

* Hence, O glorious Ignatius, * the name God ‐ bearer * was rightly given to thee.

T

IKE a living monument and an animate image,

thy yearly feast is come, O God ‐ bearing Ignatius,

Proclaiming thy mystic teachings and thy heroic exploits, L

Thy resistance unto blood,

And those blessed and celebrated words of thine, which said:

I am

the

wheat

of

God,

And in the teeth of beasts shall I be ground up.

Wherefore, as an imitator of the Passion of Christ, Intercede that out souls be saved.

SYNAXARION

On the twentieth of this month we commemorate the holy

Hieromartyr Ignatius the God ‐ bearer, Bishop of Antioch.

Verses

Thou wast offered, O Ignatius, to the lions for their supper,

O partaker of the Mystic Supper, and lion of boldness.

On the twentieth Ignatius died in the lions’ mandibles.

The Holy Orthodox Metropolis of Boston